Nationwide hit with fine after failing to flag Covid furlough fraud December 12, 2025 Nationwide had been slapped with a £44m fine by the City watchdog for failures in its financial crime controls. The building society giant has been blasted by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for missing opportunities to identify fraudulent Covid furlough payments. The FCA said one customer received 24 payments, totalling north of £27m, over 13 [...]
2025: It’s been one hell of a year for UK business December 11, 2025 From political drama to market volatility, cyber attacks, takeovers and trade wars – 2025 has not been plain sailing. January: motor finance and angry farmers We began the year reporting on the exodus from the London stock exchange noting that 2024 had been the quietest year on record for new listings and we suggested that [...]
Big banks SME lending comeback slowed down by Budget jitters December 11, 2025 High street banks’ return to small business lending slowed in the third quarter of 2025 after the chaos on the road to the Autumn Budget dampened activity in the economy. Big banks dished out nearly £4.2bn in total loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the three months to 30 September – a level [...]
Is Netflix headed for the ‘Adobe effect’? December 11, 2025 Netflix, now the world’s most valuable streaming company, insists it is still in expansion mode. However, its $72bn bid for Warner Bros Discovery last Friday, and the rival, hostile counter-move from Paramount Skydance on Monday, have triggered an uncomfortable question in Hollywood and on Wall Street. Is Netflix wandering into the same trap that humiliated [...]
Labour rail pledge in doubt after £3bn private contract to run London Overground December 11, 2025 London Mayor Said Khan has caused a row within the Labour party after First Group was awarded a £3bn deal to operate the London Overground, a move which seemingly flies in the face of Labour’s manifesto commitment to bring railways back into public ownership. On Tuesday the London-listed transport group revealed that it would begin [...]
Shabana Mahmood should seize control of the Met police from failing Khan December 11, 2025 The Metropolitan Police’s inability to effectively fight crime is down to dysfunctional accountability system under the Mayor of London. The Home Secretary should step in to get the force back to fighting crime and keeping Londoners safe, says David Spencer “In London, the Met rules the streets”. That’s what I was told over 20 years [...]
Will Andrew Bailey be Santa or Scrooge this Christmas? December 10, 2025 The Notebook, where the City’s movers and shakers have their say, Today it’s Susannah Streeter with the pen Christmas spirit seems to have spread a lot faster this year. I’ve never seen so many trees up in windows quite so early and there seem to be more lights twinkling in the streets. After months of [...]
Inside London’s occult bookshops December 9, 2025 As I stood outside Watkins Books, the oldest occult bookshop in London, an old man approached me. “Number 23 is the one you want,” he said, pointing down the street. I looked confused. “Murder! A woman stabbed in the basement!” The man, who quickly walked on, was referring to the 1961 murder of Elsie Batten, [...]
Is it time to bulk up your portfolio with these fitness stocks? December 9, 2025 The fitness boom has rocked the global markets in 2025, as both consumers and investors reexamined their approach to health and wellbeing. What was once a spur of the moment run in an old pair of trainers or a reluctant trip to the gym has become a staple in daily life, leading to an increased [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Fed interest rates, retail sales, GDP December 9, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog covering the FTSE 100 and other big market moves. Investors are bracing for a crunch decision at the Federal Reserve this Wednesday, with markets pricing in a 25 basis point cut to bring interest rates down to 3.5-3.75 per cent. Forecasters will be taking a [...]